


Heartbeat

by imthederpyfox



Series: Marvel [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, Angst, Blood, Bruises, Character Insert, Cute, Cuts, Death, F/M, Fighting, Funny, Hate, Hurt, Kidnapping, Love, Magic, Pain, Reader Insert, Scars, Serious, Some Fluff, Swearing, but not too much, cuz im better at angst, dead, let me know if I missed anything, mush, powers, prompt, spells, you're basically dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:47:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21564763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthederpyfox/pseuds/imthederpyfox
Summary: You were born without a heart... Literally. But you still live, still function like every other person. You just can't feel many emotions, and you tend to look like a fresh corpse. What could go wrong?- you enrolled to work for Tony Stark on a whim. You'd always been clever, but you decided not to when you were invited for an interview. Who you were made it difficult to find a job, or be taken seriously, or not scare people in general...Something's happening in down town New York, and you decide to help out as best you can, when the Avengers turn up.
Relationships: Loki/Reader, platonic avengers/reader
Series: Marvel [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1170458
Comments: 16
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter One

So, in all honesty, your first day of college hadn't gone too badly.  
In fact most people had been too tired to notice just how dead you looked, in all honesty most just thought you were a goth girl. You didn't mind too much, you did tend to wear mostly black after all.  
Now you just had to survive another three years without them noticing or asking any questions, it was too annoying to get into, hence why you never applied for school. And when forced to go, you never actually turned up. You didn't need peoples judgement...

You had a system by now, spend all day studying in the quiet corners of the library, various textbooks, novels, research, etc. And then at nighttime you would head to the arcade and spend the night in the dark under the different lighting where nobody could judge you. Nighttime was your favourite anyway.  
But you had wanted to know what it was like to learn more... to actually go to school.  
You had chickened out of going to your last year of high school, it didn't feel right, and you didn't want to open yourself up to the harsh ridicule you knew came along with high school. So you applied for the local college. They had attempted to completely throw you to one side - no college wanted to accept anyone who hadn't turned up to normal school - but you insisted they at least give you a test, let you sit an exam. And much to your surprise they did - once they realised that while nobody recalled ever taking you for classes or anything, your name was down on record as having turned up, even you didn't know how that had happened, but you didn't question it - and they let you sit an exam. You had hit top marks, the questions were simple and your constant study in the library had made it easier. You'd studies GCSE level work when you were ten, this was a cakewalk.

And that's how you ended up in college, it was somewhat fun you had to admit. However, the material you had 'learnt' on your first day was very rudimentary. You hoped it would pick up a bit.  
Your favourite classes were probably art, workshop and psychology. Maths, Physics and English were more rudimentary at the moment, so you hadn't picked up your stride due to the work being less advanced than you were used to. What did they even teach at high school?  
You headed to the arcade, not really knowing what else to do to get used to this routine, you were used to staying up through most of the night. Playing old arcade games, winning at pool and snooker, and talking to some of the random teens that would actually approach you. So, you decided to keep up the routine, it would be a longer walk to the arcade, but not by much, so you set off.

"Hey, Y/N." Ned smiled from their usual booth.  
"Hey, Ned." You replied, not taking your eyes from the book you were reading. "No Peter today?"  
"He's running late." Ned shrugged. "He should be here soon, though." He lent over the top of the booth, attempting to get a glimpse of the book you were reading in your dark booth. You looked up at him and he smiled. "Wotcha reading?"  
You rolled your eyes and placed your book down. "A book on Wicca culture." It was the easiest way to describe it, especially since you didn't want to advertise your magical ability to anyone.  
"Oh, like magic and stuff?" Ned continued his assault of questions.  
"Well, that's one part of it." You explained carefully.  
"Are you Wicca? You know, the whole..." He gestured to your outfit and the black beanie. You raised an eyebrow, but you knew what he was trying to say.

You took a breath to reply, when Peter came rushing in, apologising for being late. You huffed out a sigh of relief when the attention was off of yourself.  
"Hey guys, again, sorry I'm late." Peter smiled, slinging his bag down on the table. He sat next to Ned, saying hello to you as he pulled some school work from his bag.   
Ned and Peter began chatting absentmindedly as they worked, you listened along and included yourself every so often as usual, and not long later Peter's phone began ringing. "Oh, sorry, I gotta take this." The teen told you both, standing and putting the phone to his ear as he walked away. "Hey, Mr. St-" You heard as he walked out of earshot.   
You went back to your book, flipping to the next page.

Peter came back over quickly, rushing to grab something from his bag. "I gotta go." He didn't may much attention to you both as he ran for the door.   
"Good luck!" Ned shouted after him and you simply raised an eyebrow to yourself, that was a strange exchange...   
"Where's he off to?" You asked Ned, unable to keep the curiosity down.   
Ned looked to you and paused for a moment. "Oh, he's, um... he has this internship thing." You weren't convinced.   
"Sure." You lied, you knew he wasn't telling you the truth. "Well, I'm gonna go play pinball."   
Ned thought nothing of it as you left to go play a game, he was used to you suddenly deciding you were going to do something else. What he didn't know was that you were going to follow Peter. You felt a bit bad, but he seemed like he was in trouble or something.

Ned wasn't paying attention so it was easy to sneak after Peter. He was going very quickly but you managed to keep a good distance without losing him.   
It wasn't until something flew past your face that you realised something was actively happening around you. There was some form of fight going on, and you quickly turned your attention form the action back to your friend, who was rushing into an alleyway. Safe to say you felt confused, but you took in what was happening, people were being evacuated from the building across the road, there was screaming, fire, gunshots. You quickly rushed into the alleyway and saw Peter, his back to you, but a very recognisable costume on his body. He was about to pull the mask on. 

"Peter...?" You asked, loud enough for him to hear.   
He gasped, quickly whipping round to face you. "Y-Y/N?!" He came toward you, pausing slightly as he realised that he was mostly dressed like Spider Man right now. "What are you doing here?" He asked awkwardly.   
"I figured something was up..." You replied simply, he just looked confused.   
"It's just... the Stark internship..." He mumbled, trying to lie his way out of this. But he sighed, he'd have to explain it later. "You have to leave before you get hurt." He finally came over to you, pulling his mask on. "Please..."   
"I can help." You blurted out before you could change your mind. "I mean, I got accepted for an interview at Stark Industries... I just... I never got the nerve to turn up properly..." You sighed. "Look, I'm good with tech, I can actually fight fairly well, and you lot can always use another set of hands."   
"It's not safe-"   
"You're running headfirst into it, you really think you can preach about what's safe, Parker?" You asked sourly.

He seemed to be contemplating something and you realised it was the first time he'd be seeing you in somewhat daylight (it was beginning to draw dark now) away from the darkness of the arcade and the library. He sighed and hung his head.   
'Peter, where the hell are you, kid?!' A voice cut through the silence as Peter was making his decision.   
He looked back up to you. "Fine, ok, though I'm not really the one who makes the plans, that's usually Mr. Stark and Cap..." He admitted. "Just, stay close to me, try not to get hurt." He pressed a button on his head and began heading toward the building with purpose. "Here, Mr. Stark. What do you need me to do?" 

'Run interference, there's more than we thought.' Tony's voice came, just loud enough for you to hear.   
"On it!" Peter answered and jumped into action, shooting a web to a nearby window and jumping through. He paused and turned to you but you simply ran up to the wall and pushed yourself up, grabbing the ledge and swinging over. "Nice!"   
You shrugged. "I do a lot of free running. Come on, I think I heard some people this way." Without thinking you took the lead and Peter quickly jogged to catch up, falling in step beside you. "So, what are we doing exactly?"   
"Interference." Peter replied vaguely and you rolled your eyes.   
"As in?" A couple of bullets shot past you and you both ducked behind an office desk. "Right... interference..."

"Ok, I'm gonna sneak round, if they come over here, you stay very quiet, ok?" Peter told you. You wanted to argue but he was already heading off.   
You sighed. "Like hell I'm staying here..." You mumbled to yourself, running past the gap to the next desk along. You breathed a sigh of relief when the bullets missed and continued on your way, out of range from the room they were shooting from.   
You found a computer and began hacking it, looking at the monitor and camera system for the building. Most of the Avengers were on the third floor, some on the first still trying to get people out, Peter was no where to be seen and there was the room with two men chained up with guards posted everywhere. They were the ones that had been shooting at you.

You cursed under your breath when you saw another group of people hiding out in another room and tried to figure out the best route to get there.   
You nodded to yourself and quickly ran off as you heard footsteps coming toward where you were from the men with guns who had clearly gotten impatient waiting for you to show yourself again. You headed round a route with less men and managed to get to the civilians.   
"Shh, shh!" You had to tell them as they began crying at you. "I'm here to help." You whispered, kneeling in front of them. "Is it just you left?" You looked out to see if anyone knew you were here, but nobody seemed to be coming.   
"We think so..." One woman whispered. "Please, save us!"   
"I'll do my best..." You mumbled, not used to people treating you like you could do anything. Though you guessed in a situation like this people weren't really looking at how dead you looked. "Ok, I'm gonna need you all to split up, ok, there's eight of you so go in pairs. Different corridors, because it'll make it less obvious." You began explaining, not really knowing what you were doing in all honesty. "The Avengers are downstairs, if you can make it to them they can keep you safe, if you can make it all the way down then the authorities are out there to help you."

They all nodded and you reminded them to be quiet as you watched them go, splitting up as they tried to contain their sobs. You sighed and took out your phone, patching into the company internet and bringing the camera feed up on it so you knew where you were going now. Peter had joined the other Avengers, they probably didn't want him running interference anymore.   
You nodded to yourself and headed back toward the room where the men had been - but on the floor above where there were less people. You didn't exactly know what you were planning, but you had to try and help somehow. You arrived on the top floor and made sure to be careful of the floor, it seemed creaky up here.   
You steeled yourself and set off carefully down a corridor, trying not to make a sound or get yourself spotted.   
"Why we gotta do this anyway, Frankie." You heard a voice and quickly pushed your back to a wall. "You ask me, gods don't exist. Just some fanboys who watched those stupid movies and decided to play dress up. Dunno what's got the boss in a huff."   
"Shuddup man, they might hear you..."   
You furrowed your brow. Gods? Shaking your head, you waited for the footsteps to retreat before you continued on your way.

When you got to the room above where the hostages had been you checked all the camera feeds to make sure you'd be safe, and walked out into the centre of the circular room. Well, you'd gotten this far, and you still didn't have a plan, so you decided to use some magic, it would be draining but you wouldn't need to use it for long - fingers crossed.   
You made yourself invisible and teleported down into the room. You already felt the drain but looked around quickly, knowing you couldn't keep it up for too long.   
"Well, I finally have you Odinson." A man was saying, kneeling in front of one of the men who was captive. The blonde one.   
You looked around for the other and spotted him. He had raven hair and his clothes were green and black. You wanted to tell yourself off, but you had to admit he was fairly attractive.   
"And I'm so happy you bought your brother for me to play with as well, finally back on world I can make sure that he's kept away from the public. Where he can do no more harm." The man turned to the other man now. You worked it out based on what they were saying that the blonde one was Thor and that must have made the other his brother, Loki.

But Loki didn't pay attention to the man, he was looking in your direction, and his eyes locked to yours as he skimmed the room. He seemed confused, but you couldn't focus on that right now, your head was hurting too much.   
"Or maybe, better yet, I throw you to them, and let them take revenge for what you did to them-" The man continued, kneeling in front of Loki and gripping his jaw with his hand.   
"Oi, slimebag!" You called as clearly as you could, your magic wearing off and you took up a fighting stance, ready for a battle. Or to get shot immediately. One of the other. "Try picking on someone your own race."   
The man stood, holding a hand up for the armed men not to fire. He turned to you and your breath caught in your throat. One of his eyes was glowing white. He smirked at you, bowing slightly. "Charmed, my dear." He never took his eyes from you as he slowly stalked toward you. "But perhaps you should follow your own advice?"

You glared at him, you didn't know how he figured out what you were but you didn't like this guy. You still stood in your defensive position, but you could feel the blood dripping from your nose. "Let them go." You demanded.   
"Have you not reached your limit already?" He asked, pulling a tissue from his pocket. His voice was too polite, too creepy. "Magic can be difficult to control, after all." He came closer to you and you took a step back defensively. He chuckled. "Come now, dear, you are too weak to do anything. Why don't you run along home and leave the big boys to do the talking." You almost growled in response as tiny embers ignited in your clenched fists. You HATED people like him.   
"Why don't you make me?" You asked, you wouldn't admit you felt worn out, even if you wanted to collapse. "Scared you'll get beaten by a girl?"

He turned to you, an intrigued smirk playing on his lips.   
"Is that why you keep all these soldiers around?" You continued, knowing if you could buy enough time they might not notice your magic working in the background.   
"I do not have time for these silly games, child-"   
"Don't call me that, gramps." You glared at him, your energy spiking. You forced your magic into the binds that held the two gods and hoped they'd feel that they were free. "I know men like you, high and mighty who think girls should be pushed to one side to make way for you pathetic wanna be leaders. But you hide behind your men with guns, too scared to do any of the work yourself."   
You tried to remain calm when he swiftly pulled a revolver from his pocket and held it to your temple. You stared him down as his smirk grew into an insidious grin.   
"You're a brave one, I'll give you that." He purred. "Well-" He dropped his gun back down. "Either brave or incredibly stupid."

"Why not a bit of both?" You asked back, finally unlocking the last barriers on the gods locks.   
You saw Loki in your peripheral taking the large metal mouth mask off but everyone's attention was still on you.   
'Thank you' You heard an amazing voice in your head, but at this point you weren't sure if you were imagining it. You felt very weak and was using most of your strength to keep your legs under yourself.

Within a couple of seconds the two had sprung up, taking down most of the guards, you yourself tried to leave before the Avengers could come and question what you were. There was a reason you hadn't taken the Stark Industries job, you didn't need questions and judgement.   
But your legs wouldn't cooperate and the main bad guy flashed you an evil smirk, that shining eye twinkling as he disappeared.   
You stumbled to the wall, blood beginning to drip from your nose again, deep purple blood. Not like most humans, though you'd never been like most humans.

You knew they could handle themselves now and you just wanted to leave, but your knees buckled and you blacked out.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for just over 100 hits on a chapter in a day, you're awesome!
> 
> I have another lokixreader story called the sly and the forgotten ---> https://archiveofourown.org/works/16420946/chapters/38444798
> 
> Feedback is always welcomed

You woke to find yourself in a cell of some sort. Confused, you looked around and stood as you heard someone's footsteps coming closer, vibrating off the walls as they walked through the cold area.   
You forced yourself to stand up straighter and look unfazed by what was going on but you crossed your arms to try and ground yourself and keep some warmth in.   
"Hey..." Peter smiled awkwardly at you.   
"Peter...?" You mumbled, thoroughly confused as to what was happening. "What's going on?"  
"I, um, I bought you your stuff." He told you, holding up your bag. "You left these at the arcade."  
"Peter, tell me what's happening." You demanded, walking over and stopping in front of the bars, looking at your friends guilty expression.  
"I told them to let you out... they won't listen to me." He explained, softly placing your bag down next to him, refusing to make eye contact. 

"Who won't?" You asked, you just wanted to go home at this point.   
Peter took a breath to answer, when a voice rang through the room. "Pete?" You recognised the man as he came over. "What have I told you? I don't want you down here."  
Peter looked down to the floor. "She's my friend, Mr. Stark." He tried to explain.   
"Ah, you're finally awake." Tony smiled at you, you simply glared at him.   
"What do you want from me?" You asked. "Why am I here?"  
"We're keeping you here while we clear things with Fury." Tony answered, as if that explained anything. 

"Mr. Stark, she was just trying to help!" Peter tried reasoning with him.   
"I've told you, Pete. Not up to me." Stark answered. "Now go on back upstairs."   
"But-" Your friend began to argue, but Tony's look told him better and he sent you an apologetic look before reluctantly leaving.   
You tried to avoid Tony's gaze. 

"So, what's your name?" He asked, wondering off to go get a chair and dragged it over, the sharp noise piercing your ears. You cringed and continued to glare at him as he sat down. He sighed. "Look kid, this isn't my doing. Though we have reason to be worried."  
You raised a sceptical brow at him, all you'd done was help the Avengers, how could you possibly be a threat?  
He lent back in his chair, folding his arms. "The more you tell us, the easier this'll be."  
You scoffed and rolled your eyes, walking back over to the bed and sitting down, almost mirroring his position.   
He chuckled slightly. "Ok, well, the medics have told us you have no heartbeat so that had us worried. You're alive but no heartbeat, but you still have blood, and a very faint pulse."  
"I don't like doctors, for a reason." You muttered. He chuckled slightly.   
"Yeah, same." He nodded, looking down to your bag. "You know Peter?"

You just watched him, not answering. You shouldn't have to, all you did was help them.   
"Ok, well, how about we look for a wallet or purse or something and see if ya got any ID?" He smirked, reaching for your bag.   
If looks could kill he'd be on the floor right now, but you knew there was nothing you could do.   
He began rummaging through it, admittedly carefully. "Hmm, reading material." He mused, pulling some of the books out of your bag, reading the titles out loud; "'Everything Wicca', 'The Inner Workings of the Steam Engine', 'Theoretical physics, Level 8'." He nodded slightly. "Pretty advanced stuff, you in college or something? I'd say most students wouldn't go this high in level, even in later years."

You shrugged, still refusing to answer.   
"Ok, no ID." He continued, looking through your bag. "Some headphones, energy drinks, AND-" He pulled out some of the tech you were working on, mostly taking apart to use for some of the projects you had going on at home. "Some pretty impressive stuff." He actually showed a fairly genuine smile now. You remember reading about him before you applied for Stark Industries. You'd even met him once, when you were a kid. The home had bought you to one of the science events he was hosting. Though you doubt he remembers you at all, he probably didn't even know you'd applied for his company, he probably let some lower paid members of staff deal with that. "Now, what would you be doing with this type of tech?" He asked, genuinely curious.   
"Making things." You replied as bluntly as you could. You did enjoy talking about technology and your creations.   
"What kinda things?" He smirked, leaning forward with the dismantled tech still on hand.   
"A couple little projects, that's spare parts." That was all the info you would let yourself give him. 

"Ok, fine, you don't have to tell me. I know this situation sucks ass, again, not my call. In fact none of our call really, Natasha and Clint are all up in arms threatening to kill Fury for this, Peter keeps pleading with me to let you go, Cap's all high and mighty about 'morals'." He sighed. "I just don't think someone so intelligent - at least in this case - would try anything bad." He stood, placing your bag down carefully, having decided it wasn't dangerous. He kept a hold of your tech though. "However, you did go into a mission when civilians usually run screaming, disobeyed what an Avenger asked you, and then managed to get yourself into the middle of the trouble. And while we thank you for releasing Thor, that dude is too gullible, we do have to question why you'd release his homicidal brother."  
You blinked at him. "I released the people YOU were trying to release."  
"Yes, well, we didn't exactly want Loki. We wanted to get Thor out. We didn't realise Thor's father decided his bat-shit brother is serving his sentence on Earth." he rolled his eyes at that, as if him and Thor had been arguing about this since you'd been in here.   
"I didn't do anything." You mumbled as he started walking away. He paused for a moment. "I just wanted to help..."

He didn't reply, but seemed to want to leave quickly. Perhaps you were getting through to him?

\------------

That was a while ago now, you didn't know how long you'd been there, since there were no windows or clocks, so you didn't know how long had passed. You couldn't fit your bag through the bars properly. but you'd managed to get the thinnest book out, and had read it through twice when you heard someone coming.  
You frowned, subconsciously curling up on yourself. It was true that you didn't feel most emotions, at least not as strong as other people, but you had to admit you felt somewhat scared here.   
"Do not threat, I simply wished to meet my saver in person." A somewhat familiar voice came. You didn't fully trust whoever was coming over from the shadows, but the voice felt safe. A man stepped into view and you recognised him as Loki. You almost felt relieved. Almost. He smiled softly at you. "And to thank you, little one." He added.   
You offered a tiny shrug. "I just did what anyone would have done... Look where it got me..." you gestured to the cell. You hated it, in all honesty, you had begun to fear what could be lurking in the darkness of the large room, with the different cells all around you.   
He frowned, looking around. "I apologise, saving me was not worth this treatment." He bid you his apology.   
"It's not your fault, whoever this 'Fury' is he sounds like a dick." You shrugged, though you earned a small chuckle from the god. 

You placed your book to one side, leaning forward slightly. "So, um, you're a god?" You asked stupidly, earning a smile.  
"Very perceptive."   
You rolled your eyes. "Don't." You warned. "I've not met a god before." You sighed. "Yeah, I sound like an idiot." You ran a hand over your face and his expression turned to concern.   
"When was the last time you ate anything?" He asked, a chair appearing from nowhere as he sat down.   
You knew the chair that was down here made a noise, but you chose not to question that at this point. Loki seemed like the type to know you were trying to change subject. You sighed. "Some of them keep tryna bring me food..." You mumbled. "But..."  
"But you haven't been eating any." It wasn't a question.   
You simply nodded. "I just wanna go home..." You mumbled, feeling a lump in your throat form. 

His face turned to one of sorrow. "I am very sorry for your predicament, I wish there was something I could do." He admitted.   
You nodded slightly, offering a small shrug. "Unfortunately there isn't."   
"Well, for now I guess I should try to make you more comfortable." He smiled at your confused look, and waved his hand slightly at the cell.   
Your itchy bed sheets turned into nice fluffy ones under you. You stood, turning to them and stroking them slightly. They were very soft. You turned back to him and noticed your bag was now in the cell. You smiled slightly, feeling comfortable enough to make your way over to the bars. You didn't get super close, not really trusting any of these people, but Loki seemed different. Especially since Stark didn't seem to like him, which meant he probably felt like an outcast in the group. 

"Thank you..." You told him earnestly, not sure what else to say.   
"You're scared." He said simply, before blinking at himself. He let out an awkward chuckle. "Sorry, I seem to be able to feel your thoughts quite strong." He explained.   
you smiled slightly. "Don't worry... though, I tend not to have many emotions." You looked away from him.   
"I was meaning to ask... Though I did not wish to pry." You knew what he was asking.  
"My heartbeat..." You nodded slightly. "I don't really know how to explain." You sighed and decided to sit down cross legged in front of him. A second later he was in the same position as yourself, waiting for you to tell your story. He was showing he didn't mind listening if you wanted to explain. You smiled slightly. You felt very tired though, and didn't have the energy to explain. "It's a story for another day, if I ever get out of here." You joked, letting out a sour chuckle.   
He watched you sadly. "Again, I am sorry. I should knock some sense into that Stark-"  
"No, we both know it isn't his fault." You told him. 

"How do you-"  
"Because, it's obvious he feels bad. People just expect him not to have a heart so they sent him to question me. It makes sense, since Fury seems to be the big boss man hiding behind other people, expecting to be able to do this to people and get away with it..." You shook your head slightly. "Sorry, I'm not exactly a fan of people like that..."   
He smirked. "Such as the man who was keeping me and my brother captive."  
You blushed slightly, a deep purple dusting your cheeks. He seemed surprised at that, though you supposed most people were, most humans blushed red or pink. Not deep purple. "So, you were listening to what I was saying as a distraction?"  
"It may have been a distraction, but I could tell the venom behind your words. As I said, I can feel your thoughts for some reason. Stronger than most." He really looked like he didn't have an explanation for that, though the true meaning of his words got through to you. He wasn't trying to invade your privacy or your mind.

"It's fine, I guess I should learn not to project." You smiled slightly. "Perhaps you should go before they come looking for you. Stark seems to think you're trouble."  
He laughed at that. You liked his laugh, you smiled at his laugh. "Maybe I am." He smirked. "Though you are probably right, they are trying to keep a close eye on me." He reluctantly stood. "Thank you again, for saving me and... I guess for saving my oaf of a brother."  
You stood as well, trying to ignore the wave of dizziness that hit you. "Don't mention it." You smiled. "And thank you again, for fixing the room. Feels a bit more homely now at least."  
"It is the least I can do, little one."  
"Y/N."  
"Y/N?"  
"That's my name." You shrugged slightly.  
"Well, Y/N, it was very nice talking to you." He bowed slightly and you smiled once again.   
"And yourself." You replied. He smiled once more, a promise in his eyes that he would do what he could to help release you.

And he left, and you were once again alone.   
Peter bought you some food later on but you still refused to eat, and the next time someone came down to the cells it was the red head woman, Romanov you remembered someone saying through her communication device. She seemed nice, though you held a grudge against most of the people who came to the cells who wasn't Peter or Loki. Those two had tried to vouch for your freedom, and while Stark had said some of the others did too, you didn't have proof. Clint had outright told you his name and that he was sorry you were here, he said they were doing what they could and that he was keeping an eye on you. You didn't respond. 

More days went by and you had fully lost track of time now. You tried not to think about how much college you were missing after only having turned up to one day of classes. At least they knew you were an intelligent person, whether you'd admit it or not, so you should be able to get your grades up quickly if and when they let you go. You just hoped it was soon. You didn't like the real world, people judged you, were scared of you, glared at you. But at least there was people...


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's been a while, but guess who finally watched Endgame? That's right.
> 
> Now it's no secret that my Marvel writing has some continuity fluidity across it, and this one will be no different! Welcome to post endgame but not really because this is set before endgame, before Ragnarok, etc, but also that stuff happened because why not.
> 
> So, enjoy, and don't get mad that the timeline doesn't make sense!~

"So, how did you do it?" You asked Stark a couple weeks - or roughly that long from what you could guess - later when he was pulling up a seat outside your cell. He paused, but continued moving the chair and sat down, folding his arms. You looked up at him, still sitting cross-legged on the floor.   
"Do what exactly?" He asked, completely taken off-guard with the fact that you were talking to him at all. "Where did you get that?" He pointed to the laptop that was next to you.   
"A friend." You answered, not about to rat Loki or Peter out. "So, how did you do it?" 

He watched you for a minute and you rolled your eyes.   
"Ok, I get how you beated Thanos-"  
"Wait a second-" He was sat up fully now, completely paying attention.   
"But the amount of gamma radiation in that altered gauntlet?" You raised a brow. "You should be dead."  
He stared at you for another moment, before sighing and shaking his head. "How did you find out this much about the Thanos situation?"  
"You can find anything in the library if you dig deep enough." You told him bluntly. "Do a bit more research into stuff when you've got nothing better to do? You can learn anything."

He continued watching you, intrigued, and apparently speechless.   
"Besides, I did a bit of digging into Stark Industries and therefor the Avengers a couple years ago." You shrugged, but you saw the wariness in his eye, causing you to roll yours. "Relax, I wasn't trying to infiltrate or hurt anyone... I do a lot of research into different things-"  
"But my company?" He asked, finally finding his voice and folding his arms. "What made you start looking into it?"  
You paused for a moment, before sighing. "You offered me an internship." 

There was silence for a moment, before something clicked for him and he looked at you differently. "You realise this means I can pull up your file now?"  
You simply nodded. "I'm aware..."  
"And that we can find out anything we need to know, the things I've been asking you for weeks now?" He seemed angry.   
"I know." You shrugged. "If I'm stuck in here for a while I might as well talk, my throats been hurting from misuse."   
He nodded slowly. "How come I don't really recognise you from Stark Industries?" He was watching you closely, scrutinising your every word. "You look familiar but not from there, what happened to the internship?"

You had to admit, you were impressed that he would recognise a simple intern. "You didn't answer my question." You told him. "Answer for an answer?"  
He smirked, chuckling slightly. "Fine, the suit took most of the radiation, got some nasty scarring and burns, but that was fixable with some altered tech-"  
"But there would still be residual radiation, too much for a human to handle." You reminded him and he actually smiled at you, obviously impressed.   
"Right." He nodded. "And it did slowly poison me."  
"How did you stop it...?"  
He smiled sadly. "I have regular treatment to stop it effecting me as badly, doesn't stop it completely, but it keeps it in check." He sat back a bit and looked at you in a strange way. "So, internship?"

"You didn't stop it?" You muttered and he held a hand forward as if nudging you to talk. "Fine, I... I didn't do it."  
He watched you for a while. "Why?"   
You shrugged, looking down for a moment, you'd never really told anyone these things. You looked back to him. "Look at me..." You both watched each other for a moment, and you tried to keep the tears at bay. "You think people have treated me normally? Would treat me normally?" You sighed, shrugging slightly and looking back down to the floor. "What's the point in planning for a normal life if everyone is so determined to make sure you don't get one?" You looked back to him and he nodded, almost understandingly. 

He stood, resting against the bars. "You know, I know it's rough being in here, and I'm glad I've never had to be where you are right now. Especially not for helping people, just doing what's right, doing what me and the rest of the Avengers do constantly." He sighed. "And I don't know who or... what you are, I don't know why you don't have a heartbeat or why you look like death cooled down. I won't pretend to know, as I'm sure you don't understand yourself."  
You looked up to him, confused. "How did you-"  
"It's obvious you don't know who you are." He smiled kindly. "I speak from experience. You're human, from what we can tell, that's about it." 

You nodded, looking back down.  
"But just from this conversation, I know that you're incredibly intelligent, you don't like yourself very much, you jumped in to help people in need without even a thought of the risk to yourself, you know Peter Parker somehow, I know you were brilliant enough for me to offer an internship to... and you're blunt as fuck." He smirked. "Sounding a bit like me."  
You huffed out a laugh and stood, shrugging and folding your arms, trying to ground yourself from shaking. You'd been down here for weeks and refused to eat and hardly slept the whole time, but you didn't need him knowing you were feeling weak. "So? Is this where you tell me that even though you know more about me I'm sadly stuck in this cell forever? That you're sorry you couldn't do more?"

He watched you for a moment. "A couple more days at most."  
You didn't believe him, and it was obvious.   
"I know you have no reason to trust me, but I have a bit of pull when it comes to Fury." He smirked. "Don't tell the others."  
You looked down. "I don't believe you..." But you had hope there somewhere, you could feel your emotions actually heightening to that of a normal person.   
"I don't expect you too, I wouldn't either." He shrugged. "Just keep strong for a couple more days. I'll work something out. I already figured you'd be a good addition to the team, based on what Peter's said and your helping us before and just our one-sided conversations in general, but now I have proof." He smiled and began walking away. "A couple more days!" He called back and you sighed, shaking your head slightly and letting yourself sit back down, your legs felt weak from standing for that long and you were exhausted as it was.

\------------

"Y/N?" A familiar voice came and you slowly opened your eyes, even though you felt like keeping them closed. You were resting against the bars of the cell, your laptop in your lap. You slowly looked up, becoming more aware of what was happening. "What's wrong?" Loki stared at you, kneeling next to the cell where he usually sat when the two of you talked.   
You shook your head a tiny bit. "I'm fine..." You muttered, but you knew he didn't believe you.   
"Don't lie to the god of lies, darling." He told you. "What is wrong?"  
You sighed. "I'm just tired, Loki..."  
"But why?" 

Shrugging, you pushed yourself away from the bars, even though you just felt like curling up then and there and going to sleep for as long as possible.  
He sighed, standing and stepping into your cell, morphing through the bars and picking you up as if it was nothing. You looked up at him from in his arms, confused but too tired to try and fight him. "What are you...?"  
"I'm making sure you get some comfortable rest, darling." He told you softly, walking to the bed and placing you down, pulling the blanket up to your shoulder and stroking your hair back. "Get some rest, little one..."  
"Will you stay?" You muttered, your eyes already closing, you were worried if he didn't you wouldn't wake up again. "Please...?"  
"I'm not going anywhere, Y/N." He promised, sitting down on the edge of the bed. 

You smiled at him, and moved over, lifting the blanket and watching him. He seemed confused, almost hurt, but he nodded a little and lay next to you, letting you snuggle up to him. He slowly relaxed and wrapped his arms around your shoulders, not wanting to cross the line. You didn't want to either, but you were so tired you didn't have the energy to care. If you were going to die, you might as well die with a bit of comfort... and Loki had been a good friend to you while you were here.   
You glanced up at him, seeing him clearly lost to his thoughts, before you let yourself succumb to the tiredness, quickly falling into unconsciousness, not knowing if the kiss you felt brush your head was just your imagination or not.


	4. Chapter Four

"Oh, hi Mr. Loki." Peter's voice came from outside the cell.   
"Little spider." Loki answered, curtly. His voice rumbled in his chest and you tried your best to stir yourself awake, though it was difficult.   
"How long have you been down here?" Peter asked.   
Loki sounded worried when he answered, "Almost a day..." he stroked back your hair and you shifted slightly, but you really didn't have the energy to even open your eyes, let alone reassure him.

"Well, I bought some food for her." Peter told him, holding up the plate of pastries and sweets.   
Loki chuckled, his chest rumbling next to you again. "Come on, little one, the spider boy has bought you food."  
Peter laughed a little. "Mr. Loki, you can call me Peter."  
"And you do not need to call me Mr." Loki smirked, sitting up slowly and attempting to get you up as well. "You need to eat."  
You could only make a small protesting sound at being moved as you tried to curl back up. You were just too tired at this point, you hadn't ate the entire time you'd been here, you had tried to stay awake most of the time, and you just wanted to sleep now, resigned to your new home in the cell. 

Loki let out a sigh. "Please, Y/N, you must eat something..."  
"Please Y/N!" Peter added, he had been worried for you as well. "I bought your favourite sweets~" Loki magicked Peter into the cell and the boy looked around in shock. "I love magic!"   
"What's going on in here?" Another voice came, footsteps coming toward the cell. "What is this a sit in? Peter, get out of there." Tony folded his arms, not happy with this new progression of three people in your cell instead of just you.   
"But, Mr. Stark, Y/N hasn't ate in so long, look at her!" Peter argued, though he did shy away a little at the stern look Tony was shooting his way.

Stark glanced to you, worry setting in his eyes as you barely managed to open your own, confused by all the noise suddenly surrounding you. "Well, then, get her out of there." He told them, opening the cell door. Peter and Loki shared a glance, before Loki teleported out of the cell with you in his arms still when you showed no signs of moving. "Get her to the medical wing, when she's better Fury has a lot of ground rules going on that he needs to discuss with her."  
Loki nodded, not saying anything else to Tony as he disappeared. 

"So she's allowed out Mr. Stark?" Peter asked, smiling as he walked toward the door of the cell.   
Stark closed the door to before the teen could get out. "Maybe I should leave you in here for a while since you can't seem to follow instructions?"  
Peter pouted a little. Tony rolled his eyes and opened the door, walking from the room with Peter following. 

\------------

"Loki?" You muttered about an hour later when you started to regain a little coherence. "Where are we...?"  
Loki smiled at you, you could have sworn you saw relief in his eyes. "The infirmary. Relax, little one, you are safe."  
You tried to move but your head was still foggy, you noticed the drip in your arm and realised it was probably pumping fluids and nutrients into you due to your lack of food.   
"Do not pull it out." Loki told you, stroking your hair back a little. "They have said you must remain here for at least a few hours to get some strength back up."

"They?" You mumbled, looking around. You absolutely despised hospitals.   
"The doctors who work here in the tower, plus the team is somewhat worried for you as well." He let out a huffed sigh.   
You raised a brow. "The team?"  
"Hey kid, good to see you out of that cell." One of the nicer men walked in, smiling at you. In your tired state you knew you wouldn't be able to remember everyone's full names - well, the ones you had figured out anyway - but you remembered Barton, he was always nice when he bought you food even if you didn't really talk to him. 

"Hi..." You muttered, suddenly scared as Peter and Tony came into the room, followed by the red haired woman you remembered as Nat and Loki's brother, Thor.   
"You are awake!" Thor grinned. "I believe a thank you is in order for your help before!"  
You didn't really know how to reply, it was strange, you were usually fine around other people, after all you didn't usually feel too many emotions, but recently - more specifically in the vicinity of the trickster god who sat next to you - you felt overwhelmed with all the emotions. He had also said he could feel your emotions, as if you were projecting them onto him, without even trying, which was apparently something he tried not to snoop at. 

You looked to Loki, who held that same confused expression you had seen when he had read your emotions before and he sighed, looking to the others. "I believe you are overwhelming the girl."  
"We just wanted to check you're ok." Natasha smiled at you. "Just try to relax and get better."  
"Then what...?" You mumbled, looking around at the group.   
Tony stepped forward. "Then Fury needs to see you."  
You tried not to seem too nervous about that, but honestly meeting the guy who had thrown you in a cell for the past however long didn't exactly fill you with ease. 

"You got a name, kid?" Barton asked, and you realised you'd only ever told Tony, Peter and Loki your name.   
You paused, unsure whether to trust these people, but Loki nodded a little to you and you relaxed slightly. "Y/N."


End file.
